Exceptional. Unexpected. We will take only the purest, only the strongest. The only place your brother is going, little girl, is into the mines. Werner scampers up the ladder. The rungs have been roughly sawed, and his palms take splinters the whole way. From the top, the crimson flag with its white circle and black cross looks unexpectedly small. A pale ring of faces stares up. It’s even hotter up here, torrid, and the smell of perspiration makes him light-headed. Without hesitating, Werner steps to the edge of the platform and shuts his eyes and jumps. He hits the flag in its exact center,
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